Archives for October 2016

I can easily predict when it will rain. If I plan an outdoor event, or if we plan a camping trip, or if it’s time to take the roof off of our house- 99% guarantee, it will rain.

 

The last week has been about demo. Today, much of the roof came off. And yes, of course it’s supposed to rain all week! But I guess my contractor is not too worried because after all, there’s not a whole lot left to get ruined. Pretty much the floorboards and framing- much of which is being removed- is all that remains. It kind of makes me wonder if it would have been easier to bulldoze it and start from scratch. My contractor gave us that option, a couple of times, actually, but ultimately it would have been much more involved. Once you start over, you have a lot of added expenses with permits and new required upgrades (i.e. fire sprinklers).

So the roof trusses are supposed to arrive next week. It will be very exciting to see it finally take shape. The new foundation wall for the addition is also in, as well as the stem wall and subfloor. The kids can’t wait to see the outline of their rooms.

On another note– we are enjoying our first harvest of pecans. I’m looking forward to making spiced and candied nuts for gifts. Any good recipes out there?

The weather has changed! And as occupants of a fifth wheel, there are a few more issues to think about when the storm’s a’brewin’. Time to lower the easy-up, pull in the awning and bring everything in that can’t get wet. Funny side story…I was packing and getting ready to head out on my ladies trip to the beach (yes, in the rain) when I stepped down the stairs from our bedroom into a large puddle of water. The living area was flooded. I heard the water pouring in between the wall behind the TV. The first thing I did, of course, was to call my husband and tell him to hurry home for emergency flooding situation. He advised me to put a tarp on the roof- which was very good thinking. I climbed up the ladder in the deluge of rain to cover the ceiling- so much for taking the time to style my hair. My husband then called back and said that I should turn off the water, because it might be a plumbing leak. Immediately after doing so, the water stopped. What are the odds that a pipe burst on the very day of the first rain storm? Anyway, thanks to my husband for fixing our plumbing as I drove away to a blissful weekend vacation.

Another thing that my husband accomplished this week was digging the fence post holes and setting all of the poles in cement before the rains came. My son helped with driving the auger and they had all the posts in place before the storm.

On the house progress, they have demolished most of the interior. It’s so interesting to see it all opened up. Revealing the ceiling joists, the old log siding, the hidden brick chimney- it’s like getting to see all the secrets the house has been holding.

We had our first sampling of a fall storm on Sunday. The sky and clouds never cease to amaze me. 

It really is just as satisfying as it looks on TV. Punching and kicking though drywall should be seriously prescribed as stress relief. Our family has been looking forward to hitting those first holes in the wall for months, and it did not disappoint. Technically, the contractor is doing the demo for us, but over the weekend, we all took our turns at getting a head start and knocked the drywall down from a main wall.

Of course, when the crew came in yesterday for interior demo, they were a little more efficient. Quite a lot of progress in a day!

They also have the new foundation wall formed, and it passed inspection this morning, so tomorrow they will pour concrete.